FEATURED

Arizona Summit Law School

From the School

We are designed and developed by legal educators who recognized the need for a law school that is responsive to the profound changes sweeping through the legal profession. We believe by graduation, lawyers should enter the workforce fully prepared to practice law in a variety of diverse setting and industries. Accomplishing this level of excellence is a multi-layered task and focused on you. Our core curriculum is custom built – combining the traditional foundations of legal education with real life, hands-on practical experience. Our commitment to student centered outcomes – such a Bar and Career preparation – is realized through mentorship and guidance by our administrators and faculty.

Other Admission Factors

Selectivity Rating

Overall

From The School

Degrees Offered

J.D. Degree

Programs and Curriculum

Unlike many law schools, Arizona Summit Law School gives students with a range of backgrounds and responsibilities the opportunity to get a J.D. degree. Whether you’re a traditional student who can take on a full course load or need to take a non-traditional part-time day or evening path, we have a program for you.
Our core curriculum is custom-developed and combines traditional foundations of legal education with real-life practical experience. It reflects the need for law school graduates to excel in legal writing and client communications, develop a heightened sense of professionalism, and have both the knowledge and practice-ready experience to contribute to the legal profession. After students learn the basics, Summit Law has three programs that offer live-client or field experience during your law school career: Clinics, Externships, and Pro Bono Service.
Arizona Summit Law School understands that studying abroad can shape and change lives, and the law school is guided by our commitment to promoting access to study abroad opportunities for our diverse population of students. The Cross-Border Institute for Legal Studies which is a study abroad program offered in the heart of Mexico City. Students will earn credit towards graduation while gaining an intense perspective and high quality education focusing on international law and trade, human rights, immigration, and so much more, all while working alongside Mexican law students and practicing attorneys.

Faculty Information

Students Say

Arizona Summit Law School received provisional accreditation from the ABA in 2007, and received full ABA approval in June 2010, the shortest possible under ABA accreditation requirements. Arizona Summit is the only private law school in Arizona with both fulland part-time programs. Though this lack of tradition means that many areas of the school can still be considered “reactive,” students claim Arizona Summit is “on the cusp,” and its eventual reputation rests on its performance in the next few years. As of now, the rapidly growing (and somewhat expensive) school seems to be aiming to become a “unique, niche law school targeting nontraditional students with practice ready skills.” Indeed, “practice readiness” is something the school not only proclaims it focuses on, but also “genuinely centers most of its activities toward.”“Phenomenal” professors are very devoted to their students and “will work with you on any issues and really encourage excellence.” The mix of adjunct and full-time teachers “are very accessible, treat us as colleagues, and devote hours to practical, hands-on applications of the law.” Arizona Summit has “great teachers and very high expectations” (including a strict attendance policy and a C curve), making the achievement of the elusive A difficult, but there’s ample help available from the “knowledgeable, intelligent” professors, and the school even offers intersession classes, which provides even more class availability. “There are many options for class times, if you are willing to take a night class.” “The school’s administration could not do more to try to help and encourage students to succeed. Every school activity and function is centered toward student success,” says a student.Though the name of the school could certainly use some rooftop screaming, its strong practical focus on experience is highly employable, which bolsters its reputation among those firms that are familiar with Arizona Summit. The externship programs and Center for Professional Development are well-lauded, leading one student to claim that “more than any other school I researched, it really bridges the gap between law school and a law career.” The school has also recently begun small-sized review classes, “which are very informative because they discuss how to approach bar questions.”

Overview

From The School

Estimated Cost of Attendance is: Tuition and Fees: $43,966 Total Other Expenses: $22,100 Total Estimated Cost of Attendance is $66,066

Planning your finances for law school can be a challenging endeavor, but with multiple aid options available, funding is available for most students in need. Find the loans, scholarships and work study opportunities offered to students at Arizona Summit Law School below.

Dates

Financial Aid Statistics

Average Annual Total Aid Package Awarded

$50,135

% Students Receiving Some Aid

100%

Expenses per Academic Year

Tuition

$43,306

Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board

$11,000

Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense

$1,500

Fees

$2,048

Overall

From The School

Student Organizations: Criminal Law Society, Sports & Entertainment Law Society, Asian Pacific American Law Association, Black Law Student Association, Phi Alpha Delta, Phoenix Law Justice Project, Law Review, Moot Court Competition, Mock Court, Trial Advocacy Club, Hispanic Law Students Associations, Family Law Associations. For a full list visit our website. Practicing Law School Clinics in rotation are: Mediation Clinic, the Human Rights and Immigration Clinic, the Domestic Violence Protection Order Clinic, the Human Services Campus Homeless Legal Assistance Clinic, the Family Law Clinic and the Consumer Law, Debt, and Bankruptcy Clinic.

Student Body Profile

Total Enrollment

289

Number of Foreign Countries Represented

2

Average Age at Entry

31

% Out-of-State

38%

% International

1%

Demographics

45.00%

% Under-represented Minorities

83%are full time

17%are part time

54%female

46%male

Campus Life

Students Say

There’s a lack of competition at Arizona Summit, due to the friendly, Southwestern nature of the students. “When someone wants notes because they missed class, notes are provided. When someone needs help understanding something, there’s always student help nearby. I think the cooperative nature of the student body is a huge asset of this school,” says a 3L. Most students are from Phoenix and the sprawling suburbs, and many have come here to embrace a career change. The increased attempt by the administration to gain student opinions is reflected in their recent strides of reaching out to night students to help them to participate in school functions.Though the school itself doesn’t have much of a campus, “it feels like a law school” in its aesthetics. Classes are held in one building located in downtown Phoenix; outfitted with high tech classrooms and common areas designed to facilitate student collaboration. The library is “clean and organized, and the staff is incredibly helpful.” Most students have some form of transportation at their disposal but “there is also a light rail and bus system with which people can get anywhere in the city.” Social events do exist but typically occur in the city itself. The older average age of students means that many must attend to full-time jobs and families instead of socializing with their fellow classmates.

More Information

% of Classrooms with Internet Access

100%

Admissions Office Contact

From The School

Campus and Location

Located in the heart of Phoenix, our campus a gleaming high rise office building with high tech/high touch felling, is within blocks of city, county, and federal courts. Phoenix is the nations’ sixth largest U.S. city with 325 days of sunshine annually. An international hub, and an opportunity environment that is particularly attractive to young professionals.

Facilities

Our contemporary, state-of-the-art facilities allow you to hone your practical skills in our real-world trial and appellate courtrooms, used by the Arizona Supreme Court to hold oral arguments and the Arizona Attorney General to practice deliberations before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Law Library supports the practice-ready curriculum of the school with collections including: WestlawNext, LexisAdvance, and other major databases, more than 800 full-text law journals online, U.S. statues, regulations and case law.